Method and apparatus for making mosaic tiles or the like



Oct. '6, 1.959 E. J; BEDELL 2,907,129

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING MOSAIC TILES OR THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed May 20, 1958 lNV ENT OR.

Eugene J. Bedell BY "wmh km ATTY 2,907,129 METHOD AND APPARATUS FORMAKING MOSAIC TILES OR THE LIKE Filed m 20, 1958 E. J. BEDELL Oct. 6,1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Eugene J. Bedell MM, max.

ATTY- Oct. 6, 1959 E. J. BEDELL 2,907,129

' METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING MOSAIC 'IQ'ILES 0R .THE LIKE Filed May20, 1958 i v s Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.II

m mm

ATTY

United States Patent METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING MGSAIC TILES OR THELIKE Eugene J. Bedell, Massapequa, N.Y.

Application May 20, 1958, Serial No. 736,590

2 Claims. (Cl. 41-1) The present invention relates to a new and novelmethod and apparatus for making mosaic tiles or the like, and moreparticularly to such a method and apparatus whereby mosaic tiles and thelike may be efficiently mass produced.

The present invention provides a new method and apparatus for producingdesigns, pictures or patterns upon mosaic tiles or in concrete andsimilar pliable materials, and is especially adapted for producingmosaic tiles; and accordingly the invention will be particularlydescribed in connection with the mosaic tile art, although it isapparent that it is equally applicable to similar pliable materialsother than clay from which mosaic tiles are ordinarily produced.

The art of producing mosaic tiles is an old one, and for many yearsmosaic tiles have been produced in an extremely tedious and timeconsuming manner. In recent years attempts have been made to designmethods and apparatus for producing mosaic tiles in a more rapid andexpeditious manner, but such methods and apparatus have not proved to becommercially satisfactory, and have not provided sufliciently improvedrates of production in combination with adequate quality in the finishedproducts. The present invention is especially designed to provide ameans whereby mosaic tiles and the like can be mass produced in a rapidmanner, and yet the method and apparatus provides reliable andconsistent results of good quality.

The apparatus according to the present invention is a very compactarrangement whereby with a single operation the mosaic tiles may be cut,provided with an indented pattern and colored. When utilizing the novelstructure according to the present invention, even a relativelyunskilled laborer can rapidly produce quality tiles, and the possibilityof obtaining poor results due to human error is reduced to a minimum.The apparatus according to the present invention comprises anarrangement wherein a rigid frame supports a plurality of cutting wiresat the lower portion thereof such that upon downward movement of theframe, the pliable clay or the like is automatically cut into aplurality of desired shaped tiles.

The frame also supports a relatively rigid pattern indenting meanscomprising downwardly projecting walls which define the desired pattern.These walls are cut partially through the surface of the clay, and inone modification a poroussheet of material is supported tautly betweenthe walls of the pattern indenting means. This porous sheet supports asuitable coloring substance in the pocket defined between the walls andthe sheet whereby as the frame is moved downwardly the lower surface ofthe sheets engages the upper surface of the clay and transfers thecoloring substance to the surface of the clay which, due to its inherentabsorbent qualities, will pick up the coloring substance. The novelapparatus according to the present invention also includes a cooperatingsupport slab upon which the clay is disposed and which has a pluralityof grooves therein corresponding to the cutting wires supported on theframe. In a second modification, sheets of material are connectedbetween the pattern indenting means and extend upwardly in a more orless cone shape. Each of the cones is provided with an opening forintroducing coloring substance which is directed by the sheets topredetermined arcas of the clay or the like.

When employing the apparatus according to the present invention, anoperator merely needs to align the frame with the supporting slab andthen move the frame downwardly whereupon the operation is performedautomatically.

According to the novel method of the present invention, the pliablematerial is first formed in a suitable manner of a predeterminedthickness and then placed on a suitable supporting surface. The pliablematerial is cut into a plurality of separate pieces by passing a cuttingmember completely through the material, and the desired pattern isindented into the upper surface of the pliable material by cuttingpartially through the thickness of the material. Predetermined areas ofthe upper indented surface of the material are colored in accordancewith the design which is impressed in the surface. The cut, indented andcolored individual pieces are then heated or fired in a suitable kiln orthe like so as to harden the pliable material and provide a finishedcolored surface thereon. A sheet of material, preferably flexible innature, is then secured, in a suitable manner as by employing adhesive,to the upper surface of the individual pieces whereupon the entiremosaic assembly can be lifted off of the supporting surface. The appliedsheet may then be cut into pieces of predetermined size andconfiguration to facilitate handling and shipment of the finishedarticle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel methodand apparatus for making mosaic tiles or the like whereby the articlesmay be mass produced in an expeditious manner.

Another object of the pcsent invention is to provide a method ofproducing a mosaic article and separating it into sections for ease inshipment and installation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method andapparatus for making mosaic tiles and the like whereby the mosaic tilesmay be produced by an operator in such a manner as to require a minimumamount of skill and training.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatusfor producing mosaic tiles and the like which is extremely compact,simple and inexpensive in construction, and yet which provides reliableand consistent results.

Other objects and many attendant advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent when considered in connection with theaccompanying specification and drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 illustrates a top view of improved apparatus for producing mosaictiles or the like according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in thedirection of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the manner of interconnection of thecutting members of the apparatus;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view illustrating the manner of interconnectionbetween the pattern indenting means and the coloring means of thepresent invention;

Figs. 5-9 illustrate various steps in the method according to thepresent invention;

Fig. 10 illustrates a support member employed in a modified methodaccording to the present invention;

Fig. 11 illustrates the manner of rolling a body of pliable material;

Fig. l2 illustrates a modified pattern indenting and coloring meansaccording to the invention, with certain portions thereof removed;

Fig. 13 illustrates an enlarged section of the pattern indentingandcoloring means of Fig. 12 with the color directing means secured inplace; and

.Fig. 14 illustrates a modified cutting means according to the presentinvention.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views, there isshown in Figs. 1 and 2 the novel apparatus of the present inventionincluding a rigid outer substantially rectangular frame indicatedgenerally by reference numeral and comprising two oppositely disposedside members 11 and 12 connected at the end portions thereof by endmembers 13 and 14. The frame may be of any suitable rigid material suchas wood or the like. As seen most clearly in Fig. 1, a pattern in theshape of a fleur-de-lis is supported in position with in the frame bymeans of a plurality of wires extending laterally across the inner openportion of the frame and secured at opposite ends by means of woodscrews or nails 21 to the side members 11 and 12. A longitudinallyextending wire 22 extends from one end member 13 to the opposite endmember 14 and is attached to the respective members by means of woodscrews or nails 23. It is apparent that intersecting wires 20 and 22provide a supporting means for supporting the fleur-de-lis pattern inposition adjacent the top portion of the frame. The fleur-de-lis patternis composed of a plurality of downwardly projecting thin walls 25 formedof a suitable flexible material such as plastic or metal which may beeasily deformed into the proper configuration. The various walls 25 areconnected to one another as by welding or the like to provide a unitaryrigid structure defining the outlines of the desired pattern. The upperedges of walls 25 are suitably secured to the lower surface of wires 20and 22 where the wires intersect the walls by means of soldering or thelike, and in this manner the fleur-de-lis pattern is supported in fixedposition beneath the lower surface of wires 20 and 22. It is apparentthat a pattern of any desired configuration may be formed of a pluralityof wall members which are secured to one another and supported beneathwires 20 and 22.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 2 and 4, a

sheet of porous material formed of a suitable material such as nylon orsilk is suspended tautly between and connected to the adjacent wallportions of the pattern. Each of these sheets of porous material has acentral flattened rather taut portion which bridges the space betweenadjacent walls 25 of the pattern, the opposite edges 31 and 32 of eachof sheets 30 being bent upwardly and secured to the side surfaces ofwalls 25 in a suitable manner such as by means of an adhesive or thelike. In this manner, it is seen that a small pocket is defined betweenadjacent walls 25 and the upper surface of sheets 30 extending betweenadjacent wall portions. These pockets are adapted to receive a body ofsuitable coloring material indicated generally by reference numeral 35in Fig. 2. This coloring material may be conventional liquid color glazeas employed in the tile making art. v The material or sheets 30 is of aporous character such that the liquid glaze supported within the pocketsdefined between the sheets and the walls 25 will permeate the sheets andcling to the bottom thereof due to the capillary action of the sheet incombination with the heavy color glaze. In this manner, the coloringsubstance is continuously provided to the lower surface of sheets 30such that the coloring substance is always in proper position to betransferred to an associated tile or the like.

Secured to the lower surface of frame 10 is a cutting means in the formof a plural ty Ofi i iQ l lstretche between the opposite side framemembers and end frame members 1114 and having the opposite ends of eachwire fixed by means of wood screws or nails 41. As seen most clearly inFig. 3, the wires intersect one another so as to provide a plurality ofspaces of substantially similar configuration, in this case squares, andthe wires are interlocking with one another in a conventional basketweave. As seen in Fig. 1, cutting wires 40 form a grid network whichwill cut out a plurality of substantially square mosaic tiles or thelike when the frame is lowered onto a piece of pliable material. Theapparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is adapted to cooperate with a suitablework supporting surface in the form of a slab as indicated by referencenumeral 45, in Fig. 5 of the drawings. Slab 45 is preferably formed ofstone or a similar hard material, and is provided with a plurality ofintersecting longitudinally and transversely extending slots 46 and 47respectively which extend partially through the thickness of the slab.Slots 46 and 47 are spaced apart the same distance as cutting wires 40of the apparatus, and are adapted to register with the cutting wireswhereby the cutting wires may be forced downwardly into the slots in theslab 45.

In practice, a piece of untreated clay or similar pliable material isinitially formed into a flattened piece of substantially uniformthickness by suitable means such as by passing it between a pair ofmechanical rollers, or placing it on a flat surface and passing a rollerthereover. This slab may, of course, be performed either mechanically orby hand in an obvious manner. The piece of flattened clay is then placedupon the upper surface of slab 45, and the apparatus as shown in Figs. 1and 2 is then lowered down upon the upper surface of the pliablematerial, and the inner side walls 42 of the frame members 11-14 areadapted to slide over side surfaces 43 of slab 45 whereby the-apparatusis guided in its downward movement.

As seen by reference to Fig. 2, cutting wires 40 will initially engagethe upper surface of the flattened piece of pliable material indicatedby reference numeral 50 and upon downward movement of the apparatus,wires 40 will pass completely through the thickness of the piece ofpliable material, and will pass downwardly into slots 46 and 47 of slab45. The apparatus is shown with cutting wires seated upon the lowersurface of slots 46 and 47 in Fig. 2, whereby the downward movement'ofthe apparatus is checked. In this position, it is apparent that thelower edges of walls 25 have cut into the upper surface 51 of the clayor the like 50, thereby indenting the desired pattern into the uppersurface of the individual pieces which have been separated from oneanother.

In the position shown in Fig. 2, the lower surfaces of sheets 30 havealso come into contact with the upper surface of the pliable materialsuch that the coloring substance suspended upon the lower surface of thesheets is transferred directly to the upper surface of the pliablematerial, and since such material, as clay, is quite absorbent, thecoloring substance will be readily absorbed thereby.

The apparatus may then be completely removed from the slab and thepliable material with the cutting wires passing upwardly through theslots which have been cut through the pliable substance. From theforegoing description, the manner of construction and operation of theapparatus according to the present invention is clearly evident, and itis apparent that a very compact structure is provided for performing aplurality of operations in a simple and expeditious manner.

The method of the present invention may be more clearly understood withreference to Figs. 5-9 of the drawings. 'As stated previously, thepliable material is first formed into a piece of substantially uniformpredetermined thickness as. by rolling or the like. The piece of pliablematerial is then preferably placed on the top ofslab 45 as illustratedin Fig. 6., The material is then cut into a plurality of separate piecesby a suitable cutting means. It is apparent that this may beaccomplished in a number of different manners. For example, a knife maybe passed completely through the thickness of the material and drawnlongitudinally along the piece of material and subsequently laterallyacross the piece of material for separating the individual pieces. Also,a separate cutting means comprising a plurality of cutting membersformed of a suitable relatively rigid material may be fixedly secured toone another to provide a rigid frame which need merely be depressedthrough the thickness of the material for separating out the variousindividual pieces. It is also apparent that the apparatus as disclosedherein may also be employed for this purpose, and it is particularlysuited for cooperation with a slab having slots therein as disclosed inFig. 5 of the drawings. After cutting out the separate pieces, thedesired pattern is then indented partially through the thickness of thematerial. This pattern may be formed either as a separate unitarystructure, or may be combined with cutting means as disclosed in thedrawings. After the pattern has been indented in the material, andpreferably while the indenting Walls are still in indenting positionrelative to the surface of the material, the upper surface of theindividual pieces is colored. This coloring may be applied with thepattern indenting means in place without the utilization of a sheetextending between the walls of the indenting means, or it may be appliedby means of a sheet of porous material as disclosed in the inventionapparatus.

Fig. 7 illustrates the piece of pliable material after the individualpieces have been separated from one another. The pattern has beenindented in the upper surface of the pieces and the upper surface of thepieces has been suitably colored in predetermined areas according to thepattern indented therein. The entire assembly including slab 4S and theindividual pieces 55 is then inserted into a suitable heating oven suchas a conventional kiln where the clay is fired in the usual manner toharden the pliable material and provide a finished colored surfacethereon.

The entire assembly including the individual pieces and the slab is thenremoved from the oven, and a sheet of material is secured to the uppersurface of the individual pieces as indicated in Fig. 8 by referencenumeral 56. Sheet 56 is preferably of a flexible material such as heavypaper or the like, and is secured to the individual pieces as byadhesive or similar means. Sheet 56 also has the mosaic design of theindividual pieces imprinted thereon such that the design and coloring ofthe mosaic may be easily determined merely by glancing at the sheet 56.Sheet 56 retains the individual pieces in proper operative relationshipto one another, and eliminates the possibility of their becomingdisplaced due to jarring or rough handling. In addition, sheet 56provides a means whereby the entire mosaic may be lifted off of the slabintact.

The sheet may also be numbered in order to identify the various tilesthereunder and to aid in assembly, and furthermore, the sheet may bedivided into a number of different sections of desired size andconfiguration to facilitate handling and shipping of the article. Whenit is desired to lay the mosaic in place, a worker need merely to removethe sheet 56 from the upper surface of the tiles by tearing it away fromthe individual pieces as illustrated in Fig. 9. The pieces are then inproper relative relationship, and assembly thereof is a simple matter.

Referring now to Figs. 10-14, a modified method according to the presentinvention is disclosed. As seen in Fig. 10, a sheet metal support member60 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally and transverselyextending aligned rows of openings which are spaced from one another thesame distance as the slots 62 provided in slab 63, this slab beingsimilar to slab 45 previously described. It is apparent that sheet metalsupport 60 may be placed on the top surface of slab 63 such that therows of openings in member 60 will be aligned with the slots in theslab. By moving member 60 longitudinally and transversely with respectto slab 63, the rows of openings in member 60 may be misaligned with theslots in slab 63 such that only a minimum number of the openings inmember 60 are disposed over an open slot 62.

After misalignment member 60 with member 62, a

surface of guide members 65 until the body 64 of pliable materialbecomes a thin, flattened sheet of desired uniform thickness. 66 arethen removed, and support member 60 is again moved relative to slab 63such that the rows of openings in member 60 are aligned with the slotsof the slab.

A pattern depressor and coloring member 70' shown as being substantiallyhexagonal in shape is provided with a plurality of cross members 71which support a suitable design composed of a plurality ofinterconnected wall members 72 in a manner similar to that in which thepattern is formed in the apparatus shown in Fig. 1. The patterndepressor and coloring member are then lowered onto the upper surface ofthe pliable material'as seen in Fig. 12. In this figure, the colordirecting means formed of a suitable material such as nylon or the like,has been removed for the purpose of illustration. As seen in Fig. 13, aplurality of sheets 75 each has the lower ends thereof secured to theside walls 72. of the pattern means in) a suitable manner such as byadhesive or the like. The sheets 75 shown as being secured between eachpair of adjacent walls 72 may be either connected at opposite endsthereof so as to provide an enclosed space therebetween, or a singlesheet of material may be employed within each of the spaces definedwithin the pattern means, thereby providing an enclosed color directingmeans within each of the enclosed areas of the pattern. In this manner,each of the spaces within the pattern means which it is desired to coloris provided with an enclosed substantially cone-shaped upwardlyextending color directing means. The upper end of each of thecone-shaped means is provided with an opening 76. The adjacent portions76 of sheets 75 are maintained in position by a. substantiallycylindrical rigid collar 77 which maintains the upper ends of sheets 75in the desired shape.

It is apparent that when the pattern depressor and coloring means shownin Fig. 12 are depressed into the upper surface of the pliable material,the color directing means defined by sheets 75 permit color to beinserted through the openings 76 and directed downwardly into certainrestricted areas of the pattern. The coloring substance inserted throughopenings 76 may be either in a liquid form, or preferably in a powderform which may be blown through openings 76 into the space defined bysheets 75.

Subsequent to depressing of the pattern and coloring of the uppersurface of the pliable material, a cutter member Sil shown in Fig. 14 isemployed. Member 80 comprises a substantially rectangular rigid framehaving a plurality of longitudinal and transverse strips 81 formed of afairly rigid material, such as plastic or metal. The cutter member islowered upon the pliable material and forced therethrough, therebycutting the pliable material and separating it into a plurality ofindividual pieces. The pliable material displaced during the cuttingoperation passes through the rows of openings provided in support member6%). Cutter member 80 is subsequently removed from the pliable material,and the sheet metal sup- Guide members 65 and roller member" ingstherein are moved out of register with the slots in slab 63, therebycutting off any pliable material which may be hanging from the bottom ofthe sheet metal support, and accordingly providing a substantiallysmooth lower surface to the sheet of pliable material.

The individual pieces of pliable material are then ready to be fired asdescribed previously, and the remaining steps of the method aresubstantially identical with those described in connection with Figs. -9of the drawings.

It is apparent that the method disclosed in F igs. 14 provides aslightly modified manner of producing mosaic tiles or the like, but thegeneral principles of the method are the same as those of the methoddescribed previously.

It is apparent from the foregoing that there is provided a new and novelmethod and apparatus for making mosaic tiles and the like, whereby thearticles may be mass produced in a simple and expeditious manner. Thetiles may be produced by an operator in a manner such that a minimumamount of skill is required. The apparatus according to the presentinvention is very compact and sturdy, yet is quite simple andinexpensive in construction and provides reliable and consistent resultsin operation. The completed mosaic may also be divided into a pluralityof sections according to the present invention to facilitate shippingand installation. The mosaic may be easily installed merely by removingthe sheet attached to the upper surface of the tiles, and therebyassembly of the completed mosaic is a very simple matter.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the presentembodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, and since thescope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, all changesthat fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form theirfunctional as well as conjointly cooperativeequivalents are thereforeintended to be embraced. by

those claims. 7

I claim:

1. Apparatus for making mosaic .tiles which comprises a rigd framemeans, cutting means supported by said frame means and comprising aplurality of elongated cutting members extending from one side portionto the opposite side portion of said frame means, pattern indentingmeans supported by said frame means and including downwardly projectingwall members having lower edges adapted to form indentations partiallythrough the thickness of a piece of pliable material, said wall membersdefining a predetermined pattern, and a sheet of porous materialsuspended between said wall members and adapted to support a coloringsubstance.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said cutting means issupported adjacent the lower portion of said frame, and said indentingand coloring means are supported adjacent the upper surface of saidframe whereby upon downward operative movement of the frame, the cuttingmeans will initially engage the surface of the material to be treated,and the pattern indenting means and coloring means will subsequentlyengage the treated surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS178,308 Leathers et a1 June 6, 1876 259,724 Sims June 20, 1882 538,311Alcan Apr. 30, 1895 1,580,519 Meyer Apr. 13, 1926 2,230,778 Flores Feb.4, 1941 2,591,941 Innerfield Apr. 8, 1952

